Medical Society of Metropolitan Portland

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

December 18, 2007

The MSMP Board of Trustees met on December 18, 2007, at the Society Headquarters. In attendance were Doctors Monica Wehby, President, John Evans, Robert Hayes, Nathan Kemalyan, Glenn Rodriguez, Marianne Parshley, Robert Gluckman, Ruth Medak, Constance Powell, Cody Evans, ; Shane Lee, Medical Student Member Evan Los, Alternate Medical Student Member; James Hicks, David Shute, MD, guests;  Robert Delf, staff.

1.       The Board considered the Consent Agenda, including the Meeting Minutes of October 23, 2007, the Membership Report, and the Financial Monitoring and Cash Balance Report. On motion made and seconded, the Board:

VOTED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA.

2.      The Board next received a report from James Hicks, MD, Chair of Project Access NOW (PANOW). Dr. Hicks noted the progress made on the following subjects: physician/provider participation, hospital participation, patient eligibility, project evaluation and data systems, claims processing, development (fund raising), marketing/communications, and pharmacy. It is anticipated that PANOW will go “live” in early 2008.

The Board explored the role of MSMP in the ongoing implementation of PANOW. It was noted that the PANOW Chair is a past president and active MSMP member, and an MSMP staff person sits on the PANOW Board. The Board recommended that MSMP’s focus should be on the issue of equity, and that the Society should be a more visible partner in the initiative and participate in the crafting of messages that will resonate with the community of physicians.  

3.      The Board received a report from David Shute, MD, Project Medical Director for Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q), a project being managed by the Quality Corporation. This national program, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is intended “to bring together physicians, purchasers, health plans and consumers to improve the quality of health care provided to people with chronic illnesses. The goal is to build our capacity to improve care quality and demonstrate success using quality measures.”

The conversation and Q & A session was vigorous, reflecting a diverse set of opinions and impressions. At the conclusion of his presentation, Dr. Shute requested the assistance of the Society in advancing the initiative via the following "involvement strategies": 

·              Contribute your expertise to help make measurement and reporting work

§         Consider appointing a knowledgeable representative to the   

      Measurement & Reporting Team

§         Provide input on the format of claims summary reports for    

      physicians to ensure they are useful

§         Guide the design of processes for providers to voluntarily report their own medical record data

·              Exercise your leadership and influence with your members 

§         Communicate the importance of this work to your members and encourage them to participate in contributing their data

§         Convey the value of this collaborative approach to measurement to the broader health care community

The Board observed that it is possible to guide the process without promoting the process, but would consider the request at a subsequent meeting.

4.      Given the number of seasonal celebrations occurring in the community, on motion made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned.